1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a blood analyzer, a blood analyzing method, and a computer program product, which are capable of measuring a blood sample to detect abnormal blood cells.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there are known blood analyzers which are capable of: classifying formed elements of blood into, for example, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets; counting the classified elements; and allowing a measurement mode to be set for each measurement item. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0187990 discloses a sample analyzer that allows a user to set a measurement mode to a desired mode among the following two measurement modes: a CBC (Complete Blood Count) mode for measuring CBC measurement items that consist of a red blood cell count (RBC), white blood cell count (WBC), platelet count (PLT), hemoglobin content (HGB), hematocrit value (HCT), mean red blood cell volume (MCV), mean red blood cell hemoglobin (MCH), and a mean red blood cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC); and a CBC+DIFF mode for measuring, in addition to the CBC measurement items, so-called DIFF measurement items with which to classify white blood cells into subclasses.
In the CBC mode, the aforementioned fundamental information about formed elements of blood can be obtained. In the CBC+DIFF mode, white blood cells are classified into subclasses and then counted, whereby more detailed information about the white blood cells can be obtained in addition to the fundamental information obtained by the CBC mode. Further, in the CBC+DIFF mode, abnormal blood cells such as immature white blood cells, which do not appear in the peripheral blood of a healthy person, can be detected as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,816.
As described above, information that can be obtained is different among each measurement mode. Therefore, in the case where it is necessary to detect presence of abnormal blood cells or abnormal distribution of white blood cells, the user is required to select a measurement mode different from the CBC mode, such as the CBC+DIFF mode.
In order to detect presence or absence of abnormal blood cells by using such a conventional sample analyzer as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0187990, the user is required to perform the measurement in the CBC+DIFF mode.